Looks good to me

Prosciutto and melon
Lamb burger stuffed with feta
Broiled squash blossoms stuffed with feta
Salad with multicolored cherry tomatoes
Oven fries

Blueberries and sage

Was watching Iron Chef America "Battle Zucchini" last night, in which Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune beat Bobby Flay. Topic of argument between Michael Ruhlman and the other two judges was whether zucchini actually has any flavor. Earlier that night, we were trying to figure out what to do with some CSA zucchini. Saw this, and had all the ingredients on hand. I thought it was going to end up being the worst thing I'd ever cooked, as zucchini and water are basically the two main ingredients (!). Not only was it edible, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit and would even make it again. I'm still not sure whether zucchini has a distinct flavor, but the nice texture it gives this soup will really surprise you.

Broiled katsuo (bonito) kabobs
Hourenso no ohitashi -- parboiled spinach steeped in a dashi/soy sauce stock, squeezed out, and served with a poof of katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
Sesame tofu, served cold with soy sauce, sliced green onions, and a bit of grated ginger
Homemade cucumber pickles
Steamed rice

Last weekend, I made a really good "homemade" pizza (I was craving it, but GOOD pizza is both hard to find in Atlanta and NOT a part of my low-fat lifestyle). I didn't make the crust, opting instead for the more efficient pre-made whole wheat variety. I topped it with marinara sauce, grated fontina and parmesan (in modest quantities, I'm afraid), sliced red onions, and some turkey tenderloin that I had previously roasted, shredded, and tossed with a bit of balsamic vinegar. After baking that for about 12-14 minutes at 425 degrees, I topped the pie with arugula leaves and some shredded prosciutto. Yum!

Last night was more roasted turkey tenderloin, teriyaki rice, and steamed broccoli. Not too creative, but healthy, tasty, and satisfying.

green salad with radishes, scallions, sungold tomatoes, cucumber. Lemon & olive oil dressing.
homemade pickled beets
feta cheese
hummus
sliced turkey

all of the above stuffed into whole wheat pita bread

This could go in the feeding toddlers thread...both of my kids will eat any vegetable as long as it's in a pita, burrito, or wrap.

Last night brought meatball subs--made with homemade turkey meatballs! They were really good, with ground turkey (a mixture of 93% and 99% lean), breadcrumbs, dried basil and oregano, chopped red onions, minced garlic, milk, Egg Beaters, and some grated Parmesan. I just smooshed them with my hands, formed them into big spheres, and roasted them in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. I finished them under the broiler (to brown the tops), placed them on whole-wheat hoagie rolls, and smothered them in marinara sauce (not homemade this time). Yum!

Pulled pork sandwiches with green chilies
Baked beans

Last night was

Roasted vegetable ratatouille and couscous; chiffonade of fresh basil; grated Fontina

I used baby eggplants from a vendor outside Eastern Market--the ones that are light purple and white patterned. Can't recall the name. Zucchini. Yellow onions. Plum Tomatoes. Garlic

crispy fried okra with sweet chili dipping sauce
larb gai with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes
sticky rice

ice cream cones

Pan fried chicken breasts breaded with potato chip coating.

Mashed Potatoes

Grilled Asparagus

Inspired by the Hell-Burger thread (since we're sadly not getting there any time in the near future), we had:

Cheeseburgers
Corn on the cob, seasoned with soy sauce (which tastes remarkably like butter and salt on corn)
Giant slices of watermelon

To celebrate my return to a (modified) bi-pedalist state, I cooked dinner last night for the first time in two weeks. I faced an almost completely empty refrigerator, so I drew inspiration from Pim's blog, which I browsed a bit yesterday, thanks to Anna Blume's link to the hibiscus syrup recipe. I found a third of a stale struan loaf, and used it to make bread soup, using a couple of onions shredded with a mandoline and stewed for more than an hour in butter on a very low flame, with some garlic added for the last half-hour, along with a half-teaspoon of porcini powder. Cubes of the stale bread were pan toasted in more butter, then combined with the onions and a mixture of chicken and veal stock from the freezer, water and dry vermouth that had been simmering together for half an hour. It all cooked together for about twenty minutes and then was pureed in the Vita-Mix blender along with a glob of creme fraiche, which had survived intact since my last shopping trip. Pim described her recipe (which I used only as inspiration and modified quite a bit) as "slow and difficult" as opposed to the much-loathed "fast and easy" trend of most modern published and broadcast recipes. But I needed to take frequent sit-down breaks anyway, and it felt good to reclaim my kitchen space. Because of the golden color of the toasted wheat bread and the addition of porcini powder, the soup was beige, not the most appealing color, and it would have benefitted from a dice of fresh veg to add some crunch or some sauteed fresh mushrooms, if I'd had any of those. I served it with a dollop of creme fraiche, some lemon zest and a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs (thyme, tarragon and Italian parsley) that had miraculously survived in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. And the soup was delicious, with great depth of flavor. A welcome change from frozen food and take-out Chinese. We also had some bagged salad greens with shredded carrot and Comte, dressed with olive and toasted almond oils, lemon juice and Moscato vinegar (the pantry survived intact, thank goodness), and a 2007 Markowitsch Rosé.

An Ode to Bennigan's

Booths and kitsch,
How I'll miss thee.
Walls around adorn in green.

With none nearby,
Nary a substitute,
The best I can do
Is CPK's fried foods...

Pan seared tilapia

No matter how good of a cook I become, no matter how many times I do it, I CANNOT get tilapia to not stick to the damn pan! Why why WHY???

Topped with Roman vinaigrette:

Ancient Roman spice mix (fresh ground coriander, cumin seed, celery seed, salt, pepper, oregano)
Honey
Red wine vinegar
Garum/nam pla/fish sauce
EVOO
1/8 tsp dijon mustard

Mix in mortar and pestle until smooth.

Roasted leeks "Roman Style":
Toss leeks in Ancient Roman spice mix, olive oil, and honey
Roast at 425 until lightly browned
Toss with garum

Everything was absolutely amazing. The spices were perfect and not nearly as overpowering as I thought they'd be. The sweetness of the honey balanced everything nicely without being overtly sweet in and of itself.

I think I felt a 2,000 year old tingle running through me by way of the blood of my ancestors. ROMA INVICTA!

And that's a 7.1 on the weirdness meter for me for the night...

Have you tried wearing a toga

Hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick!

Using a non-stick pan for fish works too.

I hear what Dan is saying. I buy Talapia filets frozen from Coscto, and often cook them in my non-stick All Clad, but damn if I don't lose a few pieces to the pan on at least one filet.

It does. If you don't want to use a non-stick, then make sure there is enough fat in the pan. I go with about a half inch of a combination of oil and butter. And seriously, thoroughly preheat the pan before putting the oil in. It does make a difference.

Hmm... usually I let the oil preheat as well, so I'll have to give the cold oil => hot pan trick a try!

Maybe then I can abandon development on my gravity-defying hoverfish...

Thanks!

Brined and spice-rubbed chicken, charcoal roasted
Farro salad with olives, garbanzos, sun-dried tomato, capers, lemon and herbs
Baby romaine and mache salad with shredded fennel, cuke and tomato

A piece of good chocolate

2007 Dom.Tariquet Rosé

Veggie-teen just arrived home after spending a month in Paris, lucky kid, where she celebrated her 18th birthday and subsisted primarily on baguettes and cheese while spending nights in a youth hostel. A bunch of her girlfriends came over to see her, and they were supposedly going to cook dinner, but then some of them left and V-t was too tired...

I had already made dessert. So I opened a couple of cans and put together some comestibles from the pantry and refrigerator.

Olive-oil packed tuna with capers and lemon
Gigante beans in tomato sauce
Farro salad with olives and garbanzos (leftover)
Romaine and mache salad with cuke, tomato and shredded fennel, lemon vinaigrette
Baguette and Cherry Glen fresh chevre

Brioche bread pudding with Valrhona dark chocolate*

2007 Punkt Genau sparkling gruner veltliner

*I watched Suzanne Goin make this on Martha Stewart's tv show a few days ago, and since I had 1/3 of a loaf of stale brioche in the refrigerator, I decided to try it. It was the best bread pudding I have ever made. And so simple--chunks of chocolate over the bottom of a buttered casserole. The brioche was sliced into 5 thin slices, not cubed, and spread on one side with softened sweet butter, then cut on a diagonal and laid on top of the chocolate. A custard mix was poured over:
3 whole eggs, and 3 egg yolks, a pint of cream, a cup of milk (I used buttermilk), 1/2 cup of sugar, pinch of salt, a tsp. of vanilla (I added some nutmeg and cinnamon). I let it sit for 20 minutes until the bread absorbed the custard mix, and then baked it in a water bath at 325 for 40 minutes. We ate it still a bit warm. OMG. Layers: bottom layer of melted oozy dark, dark chocolate, creamy custard, and sweet, custardy bread with a bit of toasty crunch on the top.

Beef tataki, garnished with grated ginger and grated garlic
Kinpira ingen -- green beans stir-fried with red chile pepper, then simmered in sake, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin
Hiyayakko tofu -- chilled sesame tofu, garnished with chopped honey umeboshi (pickled plum) and soy sauce
Homemade pickles
Steamed rice
Shochu. It's been a lots-of-shochu day.

Filet mignon with leftover bordelaise (that stuff freezes really well)
Sauteed zucchini with a dash of garum (for umami)
Spinach-parmesan bread from Wegman's

Zucchini soup (wow, it really DOES taste creamy - that's awesome) spiked with spices
Leftover spinach-parmesan bread from Wegman's

Exotic chocolate bar with goji berries, pink Himalayan salt, and milk chocolate for dessert

All of the tomatoes we planted are ripening at the same time, and the basil is going nuts, so we are gorging on tomato salad. Tonight:

Charcoal grilled bone-in pork chops with homemade onion marmalade
Sliced tomatoes with olive oil, crunchy salt, pepper, and basil chiffonade
Corn on the cob
Pickled green beans

Mint chocolate chip ice cream while watching Mulan.

Straw and hay fettucine with pan roasted yellow cherry and red grape tomatoes, quartered artichoke hearts, and diced cherry peppers; topped with crumbled feta cheese, nicoise olives, toasted pine nuts, and basil chiffonade.

Oven-baked ratatouille
Stewed borlotti beans
Mache salad with tomato and lemon vinaigrette
Pain grillé with Bayley Hazen Constant Bliss (bloomy mold cowsmilk cheese)
2006 Lafleur Romain Dry Muscat

Peach tart
Peet's espresso

Bacon, avocado & tomato sandwich
Corn on the cob

Vanilla ice cream w white currants, macerated peach, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, a dab of sour cherry preserves and drizzle of last week's apricot syrup

Iceberg lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, nicoise olives, feta and vinaigrette
Baked chicken drumsticks
Rice pilaf
Buttered corn on the cob

Dinner for my husband's birthday:

Ribeye steak Cook's Illustrated style, with red wine-mushroom sauce
Scalloped potatoes with truffled pecorino and thyme
Green beans almondine
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
Ben & Jerry's vanilla ice cream

Saintsbury Garnet Carneros Pinot Noir 2001

Alder-planked Scottish salmon - cooked on the charcoal grill á point - "the best fish I've ever eaten," said Veggie-teen
Green beans with roasted garlic
White corn grits with fresh creamed corn

Mesclun salad with cucumber and sungold tomatoes

Jasper Hill Farm Constant Bliss

Coconut-almond macaroons

2007 Avondale Rosé

Chilled corn and avocado soup with crema and cilantro oil
Tomato, radicchio, and red onion salad with feta and sauteed peaches, drizzled with basil oil
Pan-seared halibut with cilantro-lime-chili sauce, and succotash
Honeyed goat cheese tart with pistachio crust

lime rickey
donut peaches, quickly warmed in butter, with prosciutto
gazpacho
grilled pain de campagne with cantalet
cherry tomatoes
black pepper creme fraiche ice cream with blueberries and peaches

yeah, I lifted some ideas from Dino

Herb-brined Eco-Friendly poussin, spatchcocked and charcoal grilled
Gnocchi* with crimini mushrooms in homemade marinara-- this was Veggie-teen's main and our side
Braised chard-- it was in the veg drawer and I couldn't resist

Black&blueberry cobbler with B&J vanilla ice cream

2006 La Colombaia Valpolicella Ripasso

*a new brand of packaged, uncooked potato gnocchi from Italy found at Trader Joe's today. Decent.

Soumen salad with tuna, green onions, and sliced cucumber based on this recipe. It was quite good, but between this and the tuna salad soumen off the back of the dipping sauce bottle, I feel like I'm in a terrible tuna and soumen rut.
Homemade umeboshi onigiri (rice balls stuffed with pickled plums, then wrapped in seaweed)
Edamame from a friend's garden

Oven roasted boneless leg of goat
Orzo with summer squash, tomato, feta, garlic, lemon and herbs
Green beans

Oven roasted apricot compote with B&J vanilla

The rest of the bottle of Valpolicella Ripasso that somehow we didn't finish--even better than the 1st night.

What'd you put on it? I've been eying these at Ecofriendly for a while now, but really have no clue what to do with goat. Do you treat it any differently than a boneless leg of lamb?

You can easily treat it like a boneless leg of lamb. I prepared mine the following way.\
Removed the meat from the 'net' and opened it. I cut the meat a bit more to open it up.
Sprinkled with S&P, added minced garlic, chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh mint, and some olive oil.
Rolled it back up and tied it and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Roasted in a hot oven (450F) until ~135F at the thickest part.

Enjoy and buy more. Also don't look past the nice loin chops for a quick prep item.

Last night was chicken penne alla vodka made with chipotle vodka.

I just coated the outside of mine with olive oil and my spice rub and pan seared the outsides and then put it in a 400F oven to finish cooking. mdt's method sounds tastier, so next time I'll try it his way.

For boneless leg of lamb, I often do it butterflied on the charcoal grill after a couple of days marinating in a mix of yogurt, citrus, aromatics and herbs. The goat leg would have been good that way, too. I didn't want to wait another two days to eat it, though.

Tonight:
crabcakes with aioli remoulade
barley-corn salad with borlotti beans, lime and cilantro
gingered snow peas

2006 Zenato Lugana

One of the best dinners I have had in a long time. I've been waiting 31 years for my sister to understand food and her time has finally come. After hitting the Union Square farmer's market and some random gourmet market in Manhattan, we came home and cooked dinner with her boyfriend.

Enjoyed outside, as the sun set, on a roof deck in Brooklyn:
Grilled salsa verde
Grilled clams with cilantro and lemon
Roasted heirloom cherry tomatoes with burrata
Grilled squash blossoms stuffed with herbed goat cheese
Grilled red and purple peppers and Japanese eggplant
Hamburgers topped with horseradish cheddar, roasted cherry tomatoes, and squash blossoms

White and dark chocolate covered strawberries and mini canoli from the Italian bakery around the corner

Elderberry soda with vodka

That sounds just wonderful, HV. I already (sort of) understand food, but that meal sounds like it would certainly reaffirm my faith.

I'm loving horseradish cheddar too. I don't usually choose "flavored" cheeses, but that baby is a treat, huh?

After a week of just being a plain-ol' lazy ass ordering in Chinese and eating Buffalo wings, I got my butt into the kitchen to make Pork Tenderloin with a Blackberry Tarragon Reduction Sauce. Roasted potatoes and pole bean on the side.
Click to view attachment

Own my own this weekend and feeling somewhat virtuous:

Brown rice with a little Dal Makhani (Trader Joe's)
Indian spiced veggie burger (also Trader Joe's), stuffed into whole wheat pita with shredded cabbage & carrots, mixed veg pickle, and SWAD cilantro chutney. (I am addicted to this chutney.)
Sliced necatarines, Fage lowfat yogurt, and a drizzle of honey.
Sparkling water.

Spring mix with multi-colored heirloom cherry tomatoes; Newman's vinaigrette
Linguine with kale-walnut pesto and shredded chicken

The tomatoes and kale were from Gardener's Gourmet. Lately I've been missing them at Eastern Market on Saturdays, getting there after they've closed up. Today I had better luck.

That's beautiful. I love fruit with pork, but I don't know if I've tried blackberries.

Poblanos rellenos stuffed with homemade ricotta mixed with Vermont cheddar
Salsa ranchera
Roasted goat tacos
guacamole
pico de gallo
La Consteña refried beans
orzo

Negra Modelo